


The Most Despised Deity

by LateToThePartie



Series: Whispering in the Dark [1]
Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Betrayal, Guilt, LoreTober (Lore Olympus)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LateToThePartie/pseuds/LateToThePartie
Summary: Having never won anything his life, Thanatos is perplexed as to why his victory against Persephone is so painful.One-shot written for day 15 of the Loretober challenge:  traitor
Series: Whispering in the Dark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975648
Comments: 17
Kudos: 45





	The Most Despised Deity

His hands were cold and his feet were numb. He tried telling himself it was the chill of the Underworld getting to him on his walk back home, but he knew that was a lie. He then told himself it was the side-effect of the victory he had recently won or perhaps just from consuming too much champagne celebrating; both of those things were not frequent parts of his existence. Thanatos was, after all, the god of death, the most despised of chthonic deities. So hated, in fact, that he was going home to an empty apartment that reeked of loneliness as much as it did of death.

Vigorously rubbing his palms together, he felt a shroud begin to descend on his mind, cutting himself off from the outside world and leaving him with just his thoughts. _“Minthe isn’t going to value you.”_ Fucking Hermes. Is that why he was doing this? Thanatos shook his head as if to physically purge the question from his mind. Of course he wasn’t doing this for Minthe – he knew she was invested in her relationship with Hades, or rather, in salvaging what relationship she had with the god of the dead. 

No, Thanatos was doing this to thumb his nose at Olympus, have them devour one of their own. Who was the goddess of spring to waltz into the Underworld and take a plum assignment from his idiot boss? Who did she think she was, acting as if she owned the place? She didn’t know anything about the Underworld and she wasn’t too smart either. Getting lost in Tower 4? Not knowing how to use the software? Bah, she should’ve just gone back to the mortal realm and make flowers grow.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Thanatos swallowed, but the lump in his throat wouldn’t go down. When Zeus found Persephone, she wasn’t going to be banished to the mortal realm or any other _kind_ punishment that removed her from his life. Unbidden images of Prometheus’s liver being ripped apart crept into his head, but this time it was Persephone chained to that rock, the light in her eyes permanently dimmed as she suffered one agonizing day after another. And Thanatos was the reason she was there. That was something to celebrate, surely?

Resting on his bed, an arm slung across his brow, he didn’t even remember the walk home nor anything else he did that evening before going to sleep. All he thought about was his victory and that was much better than sleeping, right? He must’ve been on a high from this win, he told himself. He didn’t really know what winning felt like, so maybe this discomfort he felt was normal. 

Hours later, after lying in the dark and staring into nothing, sleep finally descended upon him. Thanatos closed his eyes and felt himself settling into the space between consciousness and dreams when he heard it, a whisper of a word barely vocalized.

_Traitor_

Thanatos’s eyes snapped open and he fumbled for the light on his nightstand, looking around as his heart pounded in his chest. Nothing.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

The morning came too soon, the three hours of sleep he managed leaving him fuzzy-headed and grumpier than normal. Sighing, Thanatos used all of his strength to propel himself out of bed and drag himself into the shower. A hot shower might warm his hands and feet, but it would probably make him more tired than he already felt. 

He let the cold water beat down on him as if it were a punishment, his fingers curling into his palms and gooseflesh rippling across his skin. Thanatos wasn’t even sure why he bothered bathing since he’d been helpfully reminded a few days ago that the “Underworld stank” was on him. Fucking Apollo. Why did that god want Persephone taken down a notch so badly? Because they were dating and broke up?

After his shower, he sat on the edge of his bed holding a steaming cup of double espresso waiting for the caffeine to impart its gifts. Persephone has only been on Olympus for a few days. She dated and broke up with Apollo in that short period of a time? Was it just one bad date? Why was his mind unhelpfully asking questions he didn’t – _shouldn’t_ – care about? Once again, the image of agony upon Persephone’s face blinked across his mind’s eye.

The god of death buttoned up his crisp white shirt and black trousers before standing in front of the mirror to tie up his hair into the manbun his boss hated so much. Fucking Hades; this was his fault. His lust for Persephone had ruined so much and it made no sense. He wondered now if his mother, Nyx, would think so well of Hades. How many times had he heard her urging him to be more like the king of the Underworld, to be more hard-working? He’d lost track. And while he knew his mother loved him, the way in which she did made him wonder if love was something he’d ever want from another.

After he finished dressing, he smoothed out any wrinkles in his shirt and gave himself one last look in the mirror. _“Thanatos, you look great!”_ He shut his eyes and gasped. Daphne was the only being that had actually been kind to him in recent memory. She was gentle and beautiful for a mortal-realm being, and he wondered what it would be like to have the love of such a being. Would it fill the empty spaces in his life and his mind? Would it be painful? He ignored the fact that she was Apollo’s girlfriend and looked so similar to Persephone. Both of those thoughts made him very uncomfortable.

He was still thinking about Daphne as he waited for the train to pull into the station. She was a flower nymph – did she know Persephone? Were they friends? He was suddenly fearful that Daphne would find out about his part in Persephone’s current misfortunes. There was cruel irony in being attracted to someone who was so similar to one he hated. He kept his head down and giggled quietly to himself, dimly aware that the satyr next to him had given him a side-glance.

The automated voice announcing the arrival time of the train was quickly followed by a reminder that Persephone was still at-large and all tips should be called in. Thanatos thought it was a helpful reminder of how victorious he was. The train slowly slid into the station, the groan of its wheels over the track beating in his ears, a whispered word emerging over and over again, eventually overtaking all other sounds in the station.

_Traitor-traitor-traitor-traitor-traitor_

He gritted his teeth and then heatedly whispered, “I didn’t betray anyone!” Next to him, the satyr turned and walked further down the platform without so much as a look back. Thanatos didn’t care. All he wanted to know was why his mind kept bringing that word up. Persephone was not one of theirs. She was the daughter of an Olympian. She was entitled and spoiled, used to getting everything she wanted. She didn’t have to work for A THING.

The train ride was uneventful, if uneventful meant warring thoughts and whispers amongst his fellow passengers. Was Persephone in the Underworld? Why would she want to hide out here? _Because she’s one of us_. No, spring had no place in the land of the dead! Her powers would be wasted. She was just using Hades for whatever material possessions she wanted. Just like her mother took care of her in her youth, likely lavishing praise and gifts upon her only daughter, so too Persephone sought that in Hades. In fact, Demeter and Hades were very similar, Thanatos thought: aggressive alpha CEOs with a need to tightly control everything around them and make others miserable. 

He let the thought that he was stopping nepotism and helping the chthonic deities win one against the corruption of Olympus comfort him as he walked from the train to Tower 1. Yes, yes, he told himself, instead of being taken care of like a princess, she would likely find herself chained next to Prometheus. Despite walking with his head down, Thanatos stumbled forward, but caught himself before he fell. Standing up straight and stretching, he looked up and could see Persephone’s tree on Tower 4. It looked as if it had grown overnight, its pink leaves even brighter than before.

His stomach dropped and his already cold hands went numb too, just like his feet had been since yesterday. This wasn’t a victory he could live with anymore Thanatos realized, sighing to himself. 

He quietly entered Tower 1, resigned to his fate, and walked past the front desk ignoring the receptionists, but that wasn’t unusual. He took the elevator up to floor 99 and walked past Hades’s office area. Minthe was in, but looking down at her phone, a nasty smile plastered across her face. Hades was nowhere to be seen.

_He’s looking for his queen you traitor._

The thought propelled him faster, giving him a shaky energy he couldn’t remember having before. Thanatos approached Hecate’s office and didn’t even knock before walking straight in. She was on the phone, the bags under her eyes the only indication that something was bothering her. Quickly she said, “I’ll call you back,” and dropped her cell on the desk as she stood up. 

Placing her hands on her hips, she eyed Thanatos. He looked a mess. “Well? I’m assuming you have a reason for barging in?”

Thanatos gulped and nodded. “I-I…I have to tell you something.” And then he collapsed on the floor, burying his head in his hands.


End file.
